Your Cost For Coverage

The County of San Diego provides you with a twice-monthly allowance
of Flex Credits that you can use to purchase benefits.

About Your Flex Credit Amount

The County of San Diego’s flexible benefit program provides you
with a twice-monthly allowance known as your Flex Credit amount. It
can be applied toward the cost of your health care plans, various
supplemental insurances, and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA's). Flex
credit amounts are determined by your bargaining unit's labor agreement.

Excess Flex Credits

You may have excess Flex Credits if you waive health care coverage
or if you elect a medical plan that costs less than your twice-monthly allowance.

If you enroll in a High Deductible Plan (HDHP) with a Health Savings
Account (HSA), your excess Flex Credits will be automatically
deposited into an HSA for you to use to pay for eligible health care
expenses. The HSA will be administered by Optum Bank. There is no
minimum contribution amount to the HSA.

If you don’t enroll in a High Deductible Health Plan with an HSA,
you can elect to have excess Flex Credits directed into a:

Dependent Day Care Flexible
Spending Account (FSA).

You will not receive a cash benefit for waiving participation in the
County’s health care plans. If your excess Flex Credits are less than
$120 annually, they will automatically be forfeited.

Pre-Tax Premium Contributions

The medical, dental, vision, and supplemental AD&D premiums, as
well as contributions to an FSA or HSA, are deducted from your
paycheck with pre-tax dollars. This means that contributions are
taken from your earnings before Federal taxes, Social Security taxes,
and, in some cases, state taxes as well, resulting in lower taxes and
increased take home pay.

Waiving the County Medical Plan

You may waive medical plan coverage only if:

You have other Health Insurance Coverage

Waiving coverage may only be elected during the County’s Open
Enrollment period or during the year as the result of a qualifying
event as defined by Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code.